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Maple tree: No cut is the best cut

The maple tree belongs to the plants that do not like to be cut. But we do not want to deprive you a possibility how it will survive without any damage. The reason is because a maple tree will bleed when it is cut at the wrong time.

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The maple is a fairly undemanding tree, which grows almost everywhere. It makes barely dirt during the year and only when it loses its leaves in the fall, there is a certain volume of foliage. However, if you plant a maple tree must know that you should better let it grow. Almost all species of maple do not want to be cut, because they do not tolerate it. This is also, and especially valid for dwarf species . They tend to let die whole branches after cutting them and get susceptible to powdery mildew and other diseases. In the worst, but rare case, they even die completely. Since complex rescue operations usually are not worth it you should therefore plant a maple only at places where it can grow naturally. This also applies to dwarf maple species to which one therefore has little effect on the growth form. Each topiary is a risk for the tree, because it wants grow as it grows. However, an asymmetrical tree has also an appealing aesthetic !

Risky or not - sometimes a maple tree must be reduced. The best to do that is when with the onset of vegetation dormancy, when the sap pressure is low. Similar to the walnut tree, this phase begins in late summer.

Both species tend to lose extremely much liquid when cut in the spring. So it is best to cut them when as little juice as possible is pulsing in the plant. Like that the "amputations" cause the less damage and the weakening of the tree remains low. Also, the experience has proven ( despite the general directive not to seal larger cuts no more ) to treat the maple, the walnut tree, and a few other trees with grafting wax. Larger cut surfaces are coated with it, in order to avoid infections or diseases. If however a desease should occur in the following growing season, it just needs to be treated with the appropriate antidotes .

In fact, nowadays cut resistant maple species are offered. But basically the motto for a maple tree is; rather stay away from scissors and saw. Although these problems do not necessarily occur, they can be avoided in advance. But if you cut a maple when it ist still leafy, the risk is very low.